


Breaking Bread

by ifoundamoth



Category: Ultraman Ginga S, Ultraman Mebius, ウルトラシリーズ | Ultra Series, ウルトラマンギンガ | Ultraman Ginga, ウルトラマンタイガ | Ultraman Taiga, ウルトラマンＸ | Ultraman X
Genre: Buffet, Candy, Chicken Wings, Chocolate, Fluff, Food, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Pizza, breadsticks, gets into foodporn territory at imes, humans through alien eyes, warning: this fic may make you hungry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22992004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifoundamoth/pseuds/ifoundamoth
Summary: Among the humans, one unifying trait across all their cultures is to bond over the sharing of food. As various ultras can attest, humanity isn’t one to keep their traditions to themselves.A collection of stories about various ultras, humans, and the time-honored tradition of sharing a meal, snack, or what have you.
Comments: 29
Kudos: 35





	1. Pizza (Hiroyuki and the Tri-Squad)

**Author's Note:**

> "Breaking bread" refers to the tradition found in basically every human culture to strengthen bonds between people with food. It's so deeply rooted that linguists think that the word "companion" was derived from "cum pane", meaning "with bread". I think food is really important to human culture, both as a necessity and as a sort of social glue. So. I thought, the ultras have undoubtedly encountered this tradition.

What a year it had been.

Between rising as Japan’s heroes, defeating kaiju, working for EGIS, and (hopefully) defeating Tregear, it certainly was a busy time for Hiroyuki and the Tri-Squad.

But now things had quieted down a bit. The frequency of kaiju attacks had lessened significantly, so EGIS was mostly hired for bodyguarding these days. 

A lot had changed since the fall of Tregear, Taiga thought.

Given the hope given to them by Earth’s people and the time they had to recover, the Tri-Squad- himself, Titas, and Fuma- they were able to regain enough light energy to materialize themselves, albeit only at a small size. Conveniently, they were small enough to operate in an apartment made for human use.

That was why Taiga, self-proclaimed leader of the Tri-Squad, was reclining on a futon in Hiroyuki’s apartment. Hiroyuki had the day off, and was out running errands. Titas and Fuma were in the next room playing Go, Fuma loudly insisting that “that move was _totally_ legal, broski!” and Titas disagreeing. Taiga himself had been asleep when they started (him and Fuma staying up playing video games likely had something to do with it), so he missed out on the game.

As he felt his stomach rumble, Taiga realized that the game wasn’t the only thing he’d missed out on. He stretched himself out and got off the futon, making his way to the kitchen.

Taiga heard something jiggling the door lock, and it soon opened. To his relief, it was just Hiroyuki.

“Hey guys, I’m back!”

“What’s up?” Taiga replied, stifling a yawn.

Hiroyuki frowned. “Did you _just_ wake up, Taiga? It’s noon.”

“Yeah… But I’m up _now_ , aren’t I?”

“I guess you are.” Hiroyuki relented. He was reasonably certain that he did everything he had to do, but he still had the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.

“Welp,” Taiga went, stretching out again, “I could go for some breakfast.” 

“At noon?”

“Rules don’t _exist_ , Hiroyuki.”

Taiga strode over and opened the fridge, Hiroyuki following.

Both of them stared for a few seconds.

 _Oh, so that’s what I forgot…_ Hiroyuki thought. “Fridge’s empty.”

“You know what else is empty? My _stomach._ ” Taiga grumbled.

Hiroyuki gave his companion a look. “Wasn’t there a little bit in here after dinner last night?”

“Ah, well… _noooo?_ ” Taiga grinned awkwardly, trying to stamp down the memory of him and Fuma snacking during a heated Tekken match.

“ _Taiga…_ ”

“ _Fiiiine._ It was Fuma.”

“And?” Hiroyuki stared.

“...and I _may_ have had a little bit too. _Maybe_.”

Hiroyuki sighed. “Dude, I’ve been out all morning. I just got home, and I’m not in the mood to go grocery shopping.”

“But Hiroyuki, I’m starving!”

“And whose fault is that, Taiga?”

Beat.

“Fuma’s.” 

... 

“And mine...” Taiga added quietly. “But mostly Fuma.”

“What _about_ me?” The ninja questioned as he and Titas came into the kitchen.

“You ate the last of the food, is what!” Taiga crossed his arms.

“Hey, you were the one who was pigging out last night!”

“Here we go again…” Titas muttered.

Hiroyuki then realized something. 

“Hey!” he shouted, interrupting the burgeoning argument. “Did _any_ of you guys eat today?”

A trio of “no”s was his answer. He then heard someone's stomach growl, though he couldn't pinpoint it.

“Okay then…”

Hiroyuki pressed his hand to his forehead. He was too tired to go out again, but his friends were all hungry. His eyes fell on one of the pamphlets he had left on the counter. 

He made up his mind. “I’m ordering pizza.”

“Pizza?” Titas asked. “What’s that?”

“You’ll see, Titas.”

* * *

Hiroyuki ended up ordering two large pizzas, one cheese and one pepperoni. It was safe to go with the classics, he figured. The two large pizzas were part of a deal that included two sides, so Hiroyuki went with breadsticks and boneless wings. He hoped that would be enough to feed the four of them. A meal of that size normally would feed four people, but that didn’t factor in Taiga and Fuma’s appetites.

“The food should be here in about 45 minutes, they said.” Hiroyuki stated as he put down the phone.

“Eh… could be worse.” Fuma leaned against the fridge. Taiga muttered something about how hungry he was, and Titas left to retrieve the Go board.

45 minutes came and went.

“They should be here by now…” Taiga groaned from his side of the board.

“Patience, Taiga.”

The peal of the doorbell rang through the apartment, the answer to their prayers.

“Looks like the food’s here. Wait here, I’ll go and pay for it.”

The Tri-Squad could hear Hiroyuki talking with somebody else, something about a price, and a “Have a good day, sir”. 

“You too.” Hiroyuki responded, and the door locked. He returned with a stack of four flat boxes, two large and two small, which he placed on the coffee table they used in lieu of an actual dining table. “Hey, could one of you guys get some napkins and paper plates?”

After Titas came back with the requested napkins and plates, Hiroyuki set all the boxes out side-by-side. He opened the two large boxes, revealing circular dough confections sliced into eighths and liberally coated with molten cheese everywhere but the edges, which had risen as a thick crust. One of them was polka-dotted with thin, reddish meat slices of some kind on it.

And by the stars, they smelled _amazing_.

“This is called pizza.” Hiroyuki spoke, unsure if the drooling Taiga and Fuma had even heard him. “I think it’s Italian, but it’s super popular in America.” 

He lifted one slice of cheese pizza by the crust, supporting the other end with his hand even as gooey strands of cheese still connected it to the rest of the pizza. “You eat it like this.” he added, taking a bite out of the slice.

That appeared to snap Taiga and Fuma out of their trances. Without hesitation, they each took a slice of pepperoni and dug in.

 _I think I found my new favorite food~_ Taiga thought blissfully, savoring the warm pizza sauce, spicy pepperoni, gooey cheeses and crunchy crust. Fuma would have agreed with him if his mouth wasn’t full.

“So? How do you guys like it?” Hiroyuki inquired.

“ _Amayshing._ ” Fuma said, not even stopping to swallow his food. A “yeah” came from Taiga between bites.

“Titas, what about you?”

“It’s good, Hiroyuki. Just… a bit greasy for me.” _It’s probably quite unhealthy too_ , Titas added mentally, but he thought it rude to say out loud.

“Alright. There’s breadsticks and wings in the other boxes too.”

Fuma just about dove for the other two boxes, eager to try more of the tantalizing foods. Taiga also wanted a try, but he was still preoccupied with his slice.

The boneless wings had mild buffalo sauce on the side, in case whoever was eating didn’t like it. They were about the size of a thumb, coated in crispy brown breading and spices. The breadsticks were lightly browned on top, and sprinkled with salt, garlic, and crumbly cheese.

“They don’t _look_ like wings.” Fuma remarked, examining the crispy wing in his hand. “Still looks good though.” He popped it in his mouth, crunching past the savory breading into hot, juicy white meat.

“Oh man Taiga, you have _got_ to try this!”

“You need to try _this_ , Fuma!” Taiga responded, his slice gone and replaced with a buttery, garlicky breadstick. 

The rest of the dinner went on like that. Titas had a better time with the wings and breadsticks, and Fuma adored the wings and the pepperoni pizza. Taiga loved them all, especially after he discovered the buffalo sauce, even going so far as to dip pizza in it.

Hiroyuki was hoping for leftovers, but at the rate everything was being eaten, that wasn’t going to happen. Titas ate normally, but dear _god_ Taiga and Fuma were bottomless.

Eventually, the inevitable happened.

All boxes had been emptied, except for a lone slice of cheese pizza. Titas turned it down, as he had already eaten enough. Hiroyuki was content with two slices of pizza and the breadstick he’d managed to grab.

That left Taiga and Fuma, who were now in a heated debate over who should have the last slice of pizza. Astonishing, since they were the ones who had eaten the majority of the food.

 _Looks like they learned another timeless human tradition_ , Hiroyuki thought as he laid back on the carpet. _The battle for the last pizza slice_.

“You two are gonna eat me out of house and home, you realize?”

“No we aren’t.” Taiga retorted. He was distracted just long enough for Fuma to snatch the last slice. 

“ _Hey!_ ”

Fuma just ran away, laughing like a maniac while Taiga chased him around the apartment. 

Titas simply opted to let this situation sort itself out. He was just happy to nap on the soft carpet. As he dimmed his eyes, he vaguely realized that he was going to have to up his training regimen to make up for the greasy meal. But he didn’t care, since everyone was full, happy and satisfied.

Hiroyuki thought that Titas had the right idea, closing his own eyes. He quietly entertained the thought of some future pizza days before he too drifted off to sleep.


	2. Buffet (Mirai and GUYS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their latest mission, the GUYS crew goes out to dinner at a buffet, giving Mirai a chance to try all sorts of Earth foods. But perhaps he should have made his limits clear...

With a resounding shout, the Mebium Shoot was fired in all its 100,000 degree fury, striking Dorako with such force that it exploded on impact.

Ultraman Mebius lowered his arms, exhausted but more or less okay. After a moment to catch his breath, he looked to the skies and flew off, Gun Phoenix following. The sun was beginning to set, dipping low in the sky and painting the edge of the atmosphere orange and purple. It was beautiful to a human on the ground, but to the airborne Mebius, who had eyesight better than any human, it was breathtaking. It was even more special since he had his friends seeing it from the air with him.

Mebius soon touched down outside of Phoenix Nest. He dimmed his eyes and dissolved into golden light particles, regrouping and compacting into a much smaller form. With a final burst of light, Mirai Hibino stood where Mebius once did. Of course they were one and the same, but the outside world didn’t need to know that.

His human teammates, who had landed beside him, exited the jet to greet him. It was just Ryu and Marina on Gun Phoenix, the rest of the team either on ground patrol or acting as mission control, but Mirai was still happy to see them.

“Nice shot out there Mirai.” Ryu smirked.

“Thanks Ryu. Are you guys okay? Did you get hurt at all?”

“No, we didn’t.” Marina smiled. “Thanks for asking though.”

The trio entered the command room to find the rest of the main team on their way out.

“We’re all heading out to eat.” George explained. “Wanna meet us there?”

“Hell yeah.” Ryu replied. “What about you two?”

Marina agreed, leaving Mirai to decide. “Sure!”

Mirai was always eager to see what his human teammates had in store. A night out with them among other humans was a perfect learning opportunity. 

_Besides_ , he thought, _fighting Dorako really worked up an appetite_...

* * *

The restaurant of choice turned out to be an international-themed all you can eat buffet. As everyone paid and took their seats, Mirai noted the sheer variety of foods. The first thought that crossed his mind was that it was a good thing he came hungry. The second was that he didn’t even know what the majority of the alien foods were called or even supposed to _be_. How on Earth was he supposed to choose?

“There are so many things to choose from…” Mirai looked over the seemingly endless serving trays in awe. “I don’t even know where to start!”

“Let me start for you then, Mirai.” Marina led her alien friend to a tray piled with sweet and sour chicken. “This is one of my favorites.”

“Okay!” He scooped a bit onto his plate with the silvery tongs.

“Oi, Mirai!” Ryu called. “You should also try some of these dumplings! They’re awesome.”

Mirai added the dumplings to the side of the chicken, just in time for George to gush about how the buffet was serving croquettes (or as he called them, crouquetas) and that Mirai hadn’t _lived_ until he tried them. So those went on the plate too.

Teppei soon came by with a plateful of fried noodles, recommending them to Mirai. So of course they joined the dish as well. Konomi was happy about the crab legs, so Mirai decided to see how good they were himself.

By the time he came back to the table, Mirai had quite a bit of food on his plate. Deciding to go in order, he started with the sweet and sour chicken, which was hot, tangy, and mingled with crisp peppers. 

Marina was pleased that Mirai seemed to like it so much. And he did, finishing the rest of the portion with gusto. He eagerly reached for the dumplings next, biting into stretchy dough and a juicy filling of meat and vegetables. After the dumplings disappeared and Mirai gave his positive verdict, he started to eat the croquettes next.

The croquettes were meaty rolls, fried in crisp breadcrumbs. Similar to the dumplings, Mirai noted, but delicious in their own unique way. The fried noodles were the most familiar to Mirai. They were simple yet tasty, if a bit oily. 

Finally, Mirai bit into a crab leg, shards of broken shell falling in his mouth. He made a confused and slightly repulsed face.

“Mirai!” Konomi laughed. “You don’t eat crab legs like _that_. Here, let me show you…”

Once Mirai learned how to crack the legs open, he was rewarded with tender, steaming meat. There was a lot less meat in the legs than he expected, but he was getting full anyway so he didn’t mind.

Mirai set the last empty shell down on the plate, satisfied with his meal.

Some of the others were still eating, others had left to refill their plates. Ryu was one of the latter, returning to his spot beside Mirai.

“Hey Mirai, you ever try pizza?” he asked, the food in question lying on his plate beside other foods.

“No?”

“Well _here._ ” Ryu handed Mirai a slice. “I think you’ll like it.”

Even though he was rather full already, Mirai couldn’t say no to a friend, especially one who wanted to share the things they liked with him. So he bit into the cheesy slice. 

“Good, right?”

“Yeah.” Mirai said after the initial bite. It wasn’t a lie- he really did enjoy the taste. He was just a bit full, that was all…

“Mirai!” Konomi greeted, presenting him with a small pink object. “Since you liked the crab, I think maybe you’ll like shrimp too?”

“Hey amigo! They have fried calamari here too! You want to try some?”

Mirai couldn’t say no to Konomi or George either. Teppei soon chimed in about some other foods he loved, and Mirai relented to that too. This went on for a while, Mirai sampling whatever morsel got passed his way. They were bite-sized, yes, but the sheer number he’d eaten began to add up. The fullness within him began to build up more and more as Mirai went past his comfortable limit.

At last, everyone seemed to stop eating. Mirai sighed in relief as the group pushed their plates aside and got up. As tasty as everything was, he didn’t think he could eat another bite.

“You’re going to _love_ the desserts here, Mirai.” Marina claimed. “There are so many awesome things from around the world, but I like the eclairs the best.”

Oh.

“My favorites are the cream puffs.” Konomi chirped. “Oh, and the butter cookies, and…”

“The cannoli here is delicious.” Teppei commented. “It’s crispy and flaky, but creamy and sweet on the inside.”

Oh _no._

In a relenting tone, George spoke: “The churros here are good I guess, but they’re _nothing_ compared to the ones back in Spain.”

Oh _noooooo_.

“Hell, _I_ just go for ice cream.” Ryu added. “Seems like just the thing for ya, Mirai. They’ve got plenty of flavors here too.”

Mirai bit back a groan of discomfort, dreading what was to come.

* * *

Dinner had ended and everybody had gone their separate ways. Some went home by car, others by public transport. 

Captain Sakomizu had business to finish at Phoenix Base, so he was sadly unable to go. Nevertheless, he was glad to get some much-needed work done. It was the captain's burden, he figured. _Someone_ had to set an example for the rest of the team.

Sakomizu’s phone rang, showing Mirai Hibino as the caller ID.

“Hello, Mirai. What can I do for you?”

A quiet yet pained moan came from the other side of the receiver, alarming him.

“Sakomizu-san?” Mirai began quietly. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you please come pick me up? I-I don’t feel so good.”

“Certainly, Mirai.” Sakomizu swiftly got up for the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Where are you?”

* * *

As Sakomizu pulled up beside the buffet, he recalled that Mirai had teleported there in the first place. He insisted on doing it “for practice”, but now he clearly couldn’t. He wondered just what would make Mirai feel unwell enough to call him while he was working, as he would usually avoid that? Was Mirai _hurt?_ Did he simply eat something bad?

A terrible thought crossed Sakomizu’s mind. Ultraman Mebius had a lot of enemies, and many of them could take human disguises. Had he been _poisoned?_

Sakomizu spotted Mirai sitting on a bench with his arms around his abdomen, looking nauseous. He stepped out of the car to meet him, a concerned knit to his brow.

“Mirai, what happened?”

Mirai let out a little whine. “I ate too much...” he groaned, clutching his overloaded stomach. “I’m sorry…”

“Why the apology?” Sakomizu asked, silently grateful that Mirai wasn’t injured after all.

“For calling you at this hour. I know I’ll be sick if I try to teleport back like this, but...”

“It’s okay, Mirai.” Sakomizu gently took Mirai’s hand, opening the car door for him. Mirai tried to get in a comfy position in the backseat, but his stomach ache was making that difficult. 

“I feel like I’m about to _explode…”_ he whimpered.

“I know…” Sakomizu soothed, turning the key in the ignition. “Let’s just get home and we’ll try to find a way to make you feel better, okay?”

“Okay…”

* * *

Sakomizu tried to make the ride home as smooth as possible, even going down several side roads to avoid potholes. 

“How are you feeling right now, Mirai?” he spoke to the young man slumped in the back seat.

Another soft groan. “My stomach hurts…”

“I bet.” Sakomizu sympathized. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you overeat? You’re not the type of person to eat so much at once.”

“Everyone…” Mirai began. “Everyone was so happy to eat their favorite foods, and they wanted to share them with me. I couldn’t say no to that.”

“ _Mirai…_ ” Sakomizu’s voice took on a lower tone. “I understand that you didn’t want to upset your friends, but you should have told them that you were full. Being considerate of your friends is important, but so is knowing your own limits and establishing boundaries, do you understand?”

“Yeah…” Mirai replied quietly, too afraid of throwing up to speak any louder. 

“Good.”

* * *

Soon enough, Sakomizu and Mirai had returned to Phoenix Nest. Mirai was led to his quarters and laid down on the steel-framed bed. He pretty much lived there, as he didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go.

“Stay here.” Sakomizu ordered, tucking the young recruit in. “I’m going out to get some things to help.”

Mirai nodded, unwilling to move anyway. Getting up and walking didn’t do his stomachache any favors. He tried rubbing it gently so it would settle, but any progress on that front was agonizingly slow.

All he could really do was wait.

* * *

Sakomizu found himself driving again, this time to a convenience store near the restaurant. Making his way down the medicine aisle, he picked up a small bottle of pink medicine and a hot water bottle. He would have raided the infirmary for these things, but the staff had left and it was locked.

“Captain?” What’re _you_ doing here at this hour?”

He whirled around. “Ryu? I could ask the same of you.”

Ryu shrugged. “Had to get some shopping done. Gonna call an Uber soon, ‘cause freakin’ _George_ left me behind.”

“Really? I’ll have to have a talk with him later.”

“Yeah. Hey, do you know what happened to Mirai? I never saw him go with anyone and he’s not picking up the phone.”

“Don’t worry. I took him back to Phoenix Nest.”

Ryu stared for a second.

“...He’s sick, isn’t he?”

Sakomizu’s blinked. “How did you know?”

“Duh. You picked up Mirai not too long ago, and came back almost immediately to buy stomach medicine and a hot water bottle. The base is _dead_ at this hour.”

Sakomizu admired Ryu’s quick wit. Hot headed as the man was, there was a reason why he was one of the most valuable members of GUYS, next to Ultraman Mebius himself.

“I’m impressed at how quickly you figured it out, Ryu.”

“Heh, thanks. But him getting sick so soon after eating? He must’ve eaten something bad.” Ryu’s eyes widened. “ _Or…_ ”

The pilot hefted his grocery basket and turned to the checkout lines, looking back over his shoulder. “Let me go and pay. I wanna see Mirai.”

* * *

“Mirai, I’m back.” Sakomizu uttered quietly as he and Ryu entered his quarters. 

Ryu had never been in Mirai’s room before. It was organized chaos, various Earth things the disguised ultra found interesting cluttered on the shelves. The floor was clean, as was the desk, which had various papers scattered on it and a sketchbook with some colored pencils sitting neatly in the pencil holder. There were reports, and also various drawings of Earth animals, people, GUYS members, and other Ultramen. Some loopy writing was written in the top corner of the sketchbook’s cover, which Ryu could only assume meant _Mebius,_ or perhaps _Mirai._

Mirai himself was still on the bed, hands pressed to his belly, brow twitching in discomfort. The GUYS jacket he normally wore was hung up by the desk, leaving him in a plain black t-shirt. He opened his eyes, seeing Sakomizu sit down at the desk next to him. Ryu remained in the doorway with the hot water bottle, which he had prepared before coming in.

Sakomizu took the medicine out of the bag and broke the seal. Following the directions, he poured some into the included plastic cup until it met the tick mark and handed it to Mirai.

“Drink this. It’s medicine.”

Even though Mirai really didn’t want to consume anything at the moment, he complied. The pink medicine tasted odd but sweet, which would have relaxed him a little if he hadn’t been up to his neck in sweets earlier. His face screwed a bit. 

“Oh come on.” Ryu spoke up. “It’s not _that_ bad.”

“R-Ryu?”

“The one and only.” The pilot approached the bed with the hot water bottle. “Here, this’ll help.”

Setting it on Mirai’s belly, Ryu’s other hand brushed against it, noting how swollen it felt. He cringed inwardly. Had he and the others really shoved _that much_ food in Mirai without noticing?

Mirai had no idea how this weird… thing… was going to help, but he trusted Ryu anyway. Almost immediately, he found that the heat relaxed his tensed abdominal muscles and eased the pain. He closed his eyes, enjoying the relief.

“Mirai.” Ryu broke the silence. “Why didn’t you tell us you were getting full, man?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb. If you had eaten something bad, then you would’ve taken longer to feel sick. Besides, your stomach feels bloated.”

“I… “ Mirai’s eyes flitted downwards in shame. “I really didn’t want to disappoint any of you. You were all so happy to share with me, and I really appreciate that.”

“Dude…” Ryu rubbed his head. “You still should have told us. We can always go back to the buffet, it’s open seven days a week. You shouldn’t hurt yourself over something like this. We care about showing you the food, yeah, but we care about _you_ a lot more.”

Mirai was touched. “Thank you…” he trailed, sounding like he might cry.

“ _H-Hey,_ don’t go doing that! I’m just looking out for my teammate!”

Sakomizu smiled, watching Ryu ruffle Mirai’s hair affectionately. He went to bed a few minutes later, trusting that Ryu would take care of GUYS’ very own Ultraman.

* * *

By the next morning, Mirai was feeling a lot better. The medicine and hot water bottle Sakomizu-san had given him the night before helped greatly, and he was able to more or less sleep off the monstrous meal. He had awakened to the sight of Ryu asleep at the desk.

Mirai learned an important lesson that night, one that he kept in mind when Marina proposed going out for dinner again the next week. He looked forward to having fun with his comrades and tasting all sorts of new things again. Just… with more restraint this time.

As the rest of the team argued about where to eat next, Mirai belatedly realized that he never got to eat any curry at the buffet.


	3. Chocolate (Shou and Victory)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an effort to get to know Victory better, Shou introduces him to chocolate.

_Okay, let’s try this again._

This was Shou’s thought as he held the Victory Lancer gently but firmly in his hand. His first few attempts had failed, but he wasn’t going to let those failures deter him.

Shou gripped the Victory Lancer and concentrated.

_Victory,_ he spoke telepathically, _Come out._

Nothing happened.

_Please, I want to talk to you._

Still nothing.

_...Giving me the silent treatment won't solve anything. When we merged, I felt something off in your presence, even behind whatever barrier you have up. Ginga sensed it. I sensed it._

No luck there.

_...Look. Something’s eating at you, I can tell. Why don’t you talk to me about it?_

And a whole fat load of nothing there.

Shou sighed, giving up for the time being. If Victory wasn’t in the mood to talk now, then there was no use getting even more frustrated.

He got up from his spot beneath the stone pillars, making his way down the green hills towards the city. Maybe a bit of chocolate would calm him down.

After wandering for about half an hour, a familiar vendor was in sight. Shou pulled out a few bills, his payment from the UPG. He selected his favorite chocolate, covered in a brown wrapper and gold foil, emblazoned with a golden letter V.

Right as he was about to pay, an idea struck him. 

“...Actually, make that _two.”_

* * *

_Victory,_ Shou called once more. _I found a nice hidden spot on the mountain._ _Do you wanna come out and just relax with me? We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to._

As expected, silence.

Shou took his seat on a large stone, smoothed by years of being battered by rain and wind. The atmosphere was serene, the air fresh and cool. He was up a ways, but not dangerously so. His spot had a nice view of the azure skies, and overlooked the emerald swaths of forest and the metallic silver of the city skyline. The robust cliff his stone was laid upon was mostly bare dirt, broken up by patches of brown grasses and mountain wildflowers.

He sighed. As nice as it was here, he still felt alone. He took out one of the chocolate bars and began to peel the wrapper back.

All of a sudden, a blinding light overtook Shou’s vision. The Victory Lancer took on a life of its own, floating out of his jacket and levitating beside him, the light particles spilling out of it forming into Ultraman Victory. 

Victory, mindful of the fact that he and Shou were on a cliff, had formed at a much smaller size than usual. Just about Shou’s height, in fact. This ability wasn’t new to Shou, as he’d seen Ginga and Taro do this before when they hung out with Hikaru.

“Thanks for joining me.” Shou remarked. “Why don’t you sit down with me?”

Victory nodded, sitting down on an adjacent stone. He was the quiet type, Shou figured. Then again, Victory _did_ have a rough history, considering all the trauma of the Victorian wars and continuously losing his hosts, friends, and families. It got so bad that he shut himself off from the world entirely, not even speaking to Shou until sometime after the fall of Vict Lugiel. Ever since, Shou made a point of trying to get Victory to come out of his shell, to show them that despite the loss and tragedy that was inherent to being alive, bonds with others were still worth forging.

With this in mind, Shou took the other chocolate bar out of his pocket.

“Here.” He held it out for Victory to take. “This is for you. It’s chocolate.”

Victory examined the bar, noting the glimmering gold foil and the V logo that so resembled his crystals and color timer. He then began to unwrap it, as he had seen Shou do so many times before.

Eyeing the chestnut brown squares of chocolate, Victory took a tentative little bite. After a moment, his eyes lit up and he bit off some more, humming softly in approval. It was a rich, creamy chocolate, tempered so that it had a bit of gloss to it, but wasn’t overly shiny. He knew his host had a soft spot for this food, but he had no idea it was _this_ good...

Shou gave a chuckle. “Yeah, I know.”

The duo stayed like that for a while, enjoying their chocolate and the cool mountain breeze. The air was invigorating, and the twittering of little birds on the other cliffs provided a gentle soundtrack to the relaxation session.

It was working, too. Victory visibly relaxed a bit, and even dimmed his eyes. Shou decided not to pry his friend, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“...Shou?”

The ultra host’s eyes snapped open. “Yeah?”

A moment of silence passed as Victory tried to find the right words.

“...You’re right. Something _is_ eating at me.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Shou began carefully. “I won’t force you.”

Another silence, but one laced with hesitance.

“...I won’t judge you. You’re my friend, and if you want to get something off your chest, then I’ll listen, no matter what.”

Victory sighed, contemplating. After a minute, he took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“Shou. I think that…” Victory trailed off.

“You think what?”

“I think…” Victory steeled himself, taking another gulp of air. “I think I’m in _love._ ”

Whatever Shou had been expecting, it certainly hadn’t been _that._ “Okay…” He went along. “If you don’t mind me asking, who?”

He was faced with another heavy silence, though it was short.

“That’s the thing.” Victory spoke, hunched over and supporting his chin with cupped hands.

Shou frowned. What did Victory mean by…

_Oh._

Who _else_ would it be? Who else had Victory regularly interacted with with in the last few centuries?

"That's fine, Victory." Shou started calmly.

The tension that had unconsciously built in Victory dispelled, and his shoulders slumped. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t take it well.”

“Like I said, it’s _fine._ All that matters to me is that you’re okay.” A realization hit Shou. “But… If _I’m_ the one you’re crushing on…”

He was cut off by Victory's laughter. Normally, Shou would think such a response to be rude, but for the withdrawn, morose Victory, laughter was a rare and beautiful thing to hear.

The laughing died down. “No you aren’t Shou. I’m sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you...” Victory’s eyes dimmed slightly as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head with his forearm. 

Shou laughed, secretly relieved. “Don’t be. It saves me the effort of trying to figure out how to let you down gently. Though if it’s not me, then who is it?”

“I…” Victory cut himself off, rethinking his words. He looked to the clear blue sky. “He’s... _strong._ And kind too. He’s someone I can depend on, that I can trust with my life without hesitation. And…” Victory developed a slight dust of rose on his cheeks. “He’s _very_ beautiful.”

Shou was able to fit the pieces together. “Ginga?”, he questioned before he could stop himself.

Victory nodded, blush intensifying a touch. "I didn't want to fall in love again, but..." He took a moment to compose himself with a deep breath. "...Shou. Ginga is the first ultraman I've ever met. All my life, I've only known the Victorian people and Shepherdon. They live such short lives, and they just seem to get shorter as time goes on. I've had Victorian friends, lovers, and children, who've all..."

"Children!?" Shou's eyes widened. "You're a _father?_ "

A wan smile. "Yes. _Many_ children, in fact. Much if not all of the Victorian population is descended from me at this point. I suspect it's the true reason why they express psychokinetic abilities." Ultra psychokinesis, he added mentally. Victorium was a miraculous power source, but surely it couldn't do _everything..._

"I..." This was a lot for Shou to take in. "Are you saying you might be my..."

"In all likelihood, yes. You're probably descended from me in some way, Shou."

That sent Shou's mind reeling. "...We're _family."_

"We are, even if we weren't related we would still be connected." Victory replied, still holding that smile with a touch of sadness. "You have become very dear to me, Shou. Even as I kept myself as detached as I could, as I have done for centuries, you still reached to me. It's hard, adjusting now after all these years, but I am still in your debt."

It was then that Shou realized that Victory had definitely outlived his children many times over. He felt his heart tighten in sympathy, thinking about how awful it would be to watch your child die over and over again.

"Shou." Victory interrupted his train of thought, sadness overtaking his smile. "A word of advice. If you ever get the opportunity to become immortal... _Reject_ it. If it was my choice, I would have died of old age long ago. But I have a duty to fulfill as our people's protector, so I suppose it's a matter of finding something everlasting to live for now..."

_Like Ginga,_ Shou mentally finished. Ginga wouldn't die in a mere 80 years, nor was he so fragile as a human. He briefly wondered if Victory fell in love with Ginga for his personality and looks... or simply because he was _that_ glad to find someone who wouldn't leave his life so quickly.

"Victory... Come here." Shou leaned over and wrapped his ultra in a tight hug.

The action soothed Victory's turbulent heart by a tiny margin, but he didn't dare lean into the touch. He considered Shou as a friend, but he didn't want to get too attached to his host. Not _again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it obvious that this chapter is inspired by In Victory, Solitude? 'Cause that's a very good fic.
> 
> Anyway, I have three headcanons for Victory:  
> 1) He's locked himself away until recently after years of losing and outliving the humans important to him  
> 2) As a child, he was raised by the early Victorians and helped to develop their culture (might elaborate in another fic)  
> 3) He has it baaaaad for Ginga, who is Very Attractive by ultra standards
> 
> EDIT: Rewrote the chapter in some parts and did some fixes. This one was bugging me for a while, due to some unfortunate wording and some OOCness, and I think it's a lot better now.


	4. Candy (X and Xio)

Rui was the first one to find out about Halloween.

Okay, that was a lie. Halloween had permeated the Japanese public’s consciousness since about 2000, when Tokyo Disneyland held its first Halloween event. It would have been more accurate to say that Rui discovered the American Halloween from a blog she followed, which was all about the candy. Americans had a tradition called Trick-Or-Treating, where children in costume would go door-to-door and ask for candy. This tradition never took off in Japan due to the cultural aversion to imposing on people.

Still, it got Rui thinking, and she researched more. She asked the American blog questions and read up on whatever she could find on the internet. Eventually, the hype led her to propose a Xio Halloween party to Kamiki and Tachibana. It had taken some convincing and compromises, but Rui pulled it off.

Filled with excitement, Rui wasted no time preparing for the party. She printed out dozens of colorful flyers and hung them all over Xio HQ. The party would be like an office party. There sadly would be no Trick-Or-Treating, but Tachibana did say Rui could bring whatever treats she wanted. So she took to the internet and purchased the biggest, most impressive American candy crate she could find.

Next, she needed a costume. The people of Japan were no strangers to dressing up for Halloween- in fact, thousands of costumed Japanese famously gathered in Shibuya’s scramble crossing every year to mingle and party. The problem was, Rui didn’t know what to choose. There were so many different costumes to pick from…

Rui was lost in her internal debate when she passed by a certain room in the Xio base. Peering inside, she spotted a certain enclosure, and an idea struck her like lightning. Wasting no time, she dashed off to scribble down and plan her idea.

* * *

The night was finally here.

Rui gave herself one last once-over in the car mirror, straightening out her headband. Satisfied, she stepped out into the chilly night air. Her costume didn’t do a very good job of keeping herself warm- it was rather exposed, in fact- but the party would be indoors anyway so it didn’t matter.

She got everything ready earlier in the day. The command center was done up with all sorts of spooky decorations, including police tape and little ghosts hanging from the ceiling. There were all sorts of sweets on display, but the centerpiece of it all had to be the huge, overflowing spiderweb bowl filled with the American candy.

As Rui entered the command center, she didn’t see anyone there but Tachibana, who put a white kimono on over her uniform and wore an oni mask. That was to be expected, since Rui came early.

More guests steadily trickled in. Kamiki had been in the bathroom fiddling with his policeman costume. Asuna showed up soon after, done up as Maleficent. 

“I love your costume, Asuna!” Rui squealed.

“You’re looking pretty good too, Rui.” Asuna replied. “Though… I’m not really sure what you’re supposed to be, sorry.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Rui gestured to the pair of crescent-moon tipped antennae on her headband and the crackling patterned trim on her white jumper. “I’m Eleking!”

“Cute!” Asuna smiled. “Though it’s kinda subtle.”

Hayato and Wataru showed up after that, dressed simply in face-obscuring zentai suits. When questioned, Wataru simply said he was “the color blue”. Hayato was red.

Looking over at the cornucopia of candy, Rui felt bad that Mamoru and Dr. Goruman wouldn’t attend the party. They were off planet, studying strange energy readings. Rui stashed away some candy for them beforehand. She knew how much Dr. Goruman loved his sweets.

Two more guests walked into the command room, a vampire in a silky black cloak and a mummy with glowing yellow eyes.

“Well now I justh feel plain…” Daichi muttered, lisping slightly due to the plastic fangs.

“You said you wanted to go “classic”, did you not?” X inquired, his eyes being the only visible part of him under layers and layers of gauze.

Daichi nodded. “Everyone elth is tho much more elaborate though.”

“Relax,” Asuna cut in. “It’s a party, not a costume contest. You two are just fine.”

X bowed slightly. “Thank you, Asuna.”

With everyone there, the party could properly begin. That of course meant digging in to the snacks. Daichi was happy for an excuse to ditch those uncomfortable fangs, biting down into a cupcake decorated to look like a bloody brain, filled with jam. Hey, he was supposed to be a vampire, wasn’t he?

X was the first to select a candy from the bowl, a simple gumball wrapped in cellophane. Pulling down the bandages covering the lower half of his face, he popped it in his mouth and bit down. As he chewed on the gumball, he suddenly made a face.

“X…” Asuna began, holding back laughter. “You’re supposed to take the wrapper _off_ first.”

* * *

American candies were… _odd,_ to say the least.

The main consensus was that they were just too _sugary_. Many of the candies (with notable exceptions, like the well-received Lemonheads) felt like flavored sugar in the mouth, to the group’s complaints.

You know who _didn’t_ complain? X.

Xio’s own Ultraman turned out to have a weakness for anything and everything sweet, eagerly devouring candy after candy. Nobody minded since there was more than enough to go around, and eating lots of candy was the point of Halloween, wasn’t it?

It was cruel fate that led X to be the first to try a Warhead. The innocuous-looking little balls were individually wrapped, with their logos as a boy who had a mushroom cloud coming out of his head. X, who didn’t even see the logo, unwrapped it and began to eat it like he would any other candy.

His eyes flashed in surprise when, instead of the sweetness he’d been expecting, there was sheer, mouth-numbing _sourness_ flooding his mouth. He made a distressed sound, puckering his mouth as a burning sensation invaded his tongue.

“X? What’s wrong?” A concerned Daichi drew closer.

Rui spied the dropped wrapper, and a lightbulb went off.

“Oh! I read about these candies!” She commented, picking up the wrapper to show everyone. “They’re suuuuuper sour, and people have contests to see who can eat the most at once!"

Wataru and Hayato looked at each other.

Meanwhile, the sour taste in X’s mouth had faded to a much more pleasant sweetness. He unpuckered a bit, relieved that the sourness was gone.

“There’s a rumor,” Rui continued, leaning forward. “That these candies can burn a hole in your tongue.”

X spit out his candy eyes bugging out.

“It’s just a rumor, though. Nobody was ever hurt eating a Warhead, I _think…”_ Rui finished.

X looked up at her miserably, reaching for a gumball to cleanse his palate. Across from him, Hayato and Wataru had filled their mouths with Warheads and were now writhing on the floor.

Nobody said anything for a while. X continued to sample more candies.

“X?” Wataru spoke up, freed enough from the oppressive sourness to speak clearly. 

“Yes, Wataru?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but you’re not supposed to swallow gum.”

“...What do you mean?” X asked warily.

“Well… gum is typically meant to be chewed and blown into bubbles.” Daichi started cautiously. “When you’re done with it, you just spit it out.”

“Why shouldn’t I swallow it?” X inquired, feeling oncoming dread.

“I mean, you _could,_ but-”

“It stays in your stomach for seven years!” Hayato interrupted, earning himself a dirty look.

Another silence, then-

“What do you _mean_ it’ll stay in my stomach for seven years!?”

* * *

It had taken a while, but Daichi and Rui managed to convince X that no, the gum wasn’t going to stay inside him any longer than any other food item. To aid him, Wataru fished another piece of bubblegum out of the pile and began chewing on it.

“K, X-”

“Is it not considered rude to speak while chewing food?”

“Not if it’s bubblegum, dude.” Wataru smiled, cheek bulging on one side. “I’m gonna teach you how to blow a bubble.”

X’s eyes flickered in a confused blink. “...Pardon?”

“It’s called bubblegum ‘cause you can blow a bubble with it.” Wataru tossed X a piece. “Here, start chewing. Let me know when you’ve got it nice and stretchy, okay?”

X complied, unwrapping the pink confection and tossing it in his mouth. He was fond of the flavor, though why humans would create a food item that wasn’t supposed to be swallowed was beyond him. Another thing that annoyed him about gum was that it simply didn’t retain its flavor, though he had to admit that even then it was still satisfying to chew.

The ultra gave a thumbs up to Wataru when he felt the gum was ready.

“Ok X, you’re gonna want to sort of flatten the gum in your mouth and then push your tongue out your mouth but not all the way through. You wanna stretch it around your tongue when you stick it out so that there’s no holes.”

Rolling around the gum wad in his mouth, X’s tongue fumbled as he tried to shape it. Eventually, he had a sort of flat shape, and he carefully pushed his tongue through and out.

“Looks good. Now you blow.” Wataru blew a grapefruit-sized bubble, which popped and surprised X.

X, imitating Wataru, blew hard.

The wad of gum burst out of X’s mouth, causing him to blow an unintentional raspberry. It flew across the room like a bullet, splatting in Kamiki’s hair. Said human simply gave everyone involved a Look, and then turned to go to the restroom with a long-suffering sigh.

X was embarrassed, Wataru was mortified, and Hayato was laughing his ass off.

* * *

Later into the night, the group decided to indulge in the time-honoured tradition of sharing scary stories. The room was dark, and everybody was sitting in a circle, illuminated only by a novelty pumpkin lamp. It created a properly spooky atmosphere…

An atmosphere that was ruined by X’s giggling.

As the night went on, Daichi noticed that the excessive amount of sugar his partner had consumed was… affecting him. X had been eating candy and other treats almost nonstop since the party had begun. X had a hell of a sweet tooth, as it turned out, and at this point it had culminated in quite the sugar rush.

Daichi noticed that X was starting to get jittery soon after the gum incident, but he chalked it up to nervousness. Since X had consumed more and more, it escalated to the point where the ultra was practically bouncing off the walls.

X was bouncing a little as he sat next to Daichi. His eyes were bright, and his body was bursting with excess energy. Daichi squeezed the fidgety ultra’s hand, whispering to be quiet as Wataru began his story.

Wataru spun a tale about a terrible spider youkai that disguised herself as a beautiful young woman to lure unsuspecting young men to their doom. The others had heard the story of the Jorogumo a million times before, but still admired Wataru’s passionate retelling.

“And then, she lunged at him with huge, vicious fangs!” Wataru exclaimed, making his hands into claws for emphasis. 

“Daichi.” X muttered. _“Daichiiiii…”_

“What is it, X?” Daichi whispered. “Wataru isn’t done yet.”

“What’s a spider?”

“What’s a…” Daichi sighed. It seemed that X was restraining himself the whole time, a herculean feat when one considered his natural curiosity and his sugar-induced hyperactivity.

 _“Spider,_ Daichi!” X repeated intently. “What’s a spider? I need to know!”

The ultra continued to bounce on his knees, a steady _boing boing boing..._

The scientist sighed.

“A spider…” He began, shaping the words in his head. “Is like… a type of bug, but it has eight legs instead of six. It also has venomous fangs and can produce silk webbing.”

“How does it produce silk?”

“Uhh…” Daichi was admittedly stumped. He pulled out his Devizer to look it up. Wataru’s story was getting corny anyway.

* * *

After the storytelling session, the guests started to trickle out.

Daichi stifled a yawn, stretching out as Wataru and Hayato argued over whose story was better. Kamiki and the others left a while ago, and Rui recently left with the instruction to take as much as they wanted home from the snack table. 

Eventually, it was just X and Daichi there.

“Meet you in bed, X.” Daichi yawned wide. “I think I’m done for tonight…”

“Okay, Daichi.” 

As the scientist walked off, X began to search for something to do. He still had too much energy to go to bed, but the room was now abandoned.

Bored, X looked over to the table. It still had quite a bit of candy, and not all of the cupcakes and other treats had been taken. He recalled that humans typically didn’t leave food out because it would become “stale”, which was apparently undesirable. 

_It would be a shame for all those delicious treats to go bad…_ X thought as he approached the table, licking his lips. 

He was always happy to help.

* * *

Daichi woke up to the sound of rustling fabric, then a weight creaking down on the spring mattress in his quarters. The faint golden light told him that it was just X, whose shining eyes were a dead giveaway at night. 

X lowered himself on the bed and pulled the covers over himself. Daichi closed his eyes, grateful that X had apparently come down from his sugar high, and prepared to go back to sleep.

The peaceful onset of slumber was interrupted by X tossing and turning, as if he couldn’t get comfortable. He shifted and twisted about beneath the covers. Daichi heard a faint “Ngh…”, which officially raised his concerns.

 _“X?”_ Daichi whispered. “Are you okay?”

His response was a little groaning _“Yes…”._ A skeptical Daichi sat up, turning on the lamp.

X, to put it bluntly, looked like he was going to be sick. The ultra had buried himself in blankets, curled up in discomfort. His arms were wrapped around his belly.

Daichi had an idea as to what was wrong.

 _“Aww…_ does your tummy hurt?” he teased, earning a half-assed glare and a nod from X.

“Want me to kiss it better?” Daichi joked.

“You… humans can _do_ that?” X inquired. “Yes please…”

“Oh, uh… _okay…”_

More than a bit surprised that X actually agreed, Daichi bent over and planted a kiss on the black section covering X’s abs. They were firm… _too_ firm, and they stuck out a ways too.

X’s stomach let out a painful-sounding rumble, that if scientifically possible could be translated to “X you nincompoop, _why did you stuff so much material into me?”._

 _“X…”_ Daichi eyed the ultra with concern. “Just _how much_ candy did you eat?”

A yellow eye shined from beneath the pillow. “The rest.”

“What do you _mean_ the-” Daichi’s eyes shot open, remembering all that had been left. “Please don’t tell me you cleared off the table…”

“It-” X was interrupted by a sick-sounding belch, followed by a soft moan. “...It would’ve gone _stale_ if it stayed out, Daichi…”

It took everything Daichi had to not scream into his pillow. A materialized X was a bit larger than the average human, about seven feet tall, but Daichi didn’t even think a stomach befitting such a body could hold that much. And for it to be nothing but pure _sugar…_

“No _wonder_ you aren’t feeling well…” Daichi sympathized, giving X’s aching tummy a gentle rub. “Stay in bed, I’ll see if I can get you a heating pad.”

“Thank _*urp*_ you, Daichi…”

“What are friends for?” Daichi replied, heaving himself off the bed to gather the necessary supplies for his ailing friend. A heating pad, some water, and a wastebin in case X’s stomach decided to lighten its load, so to speak.

It was gonna be a long night.


End file.
